The Sage of Corruption

That afternoon, in a lush forest.

Dugu Qing walked straight ahead, feeling an odd tightness around his feet.

He checked his boots and found they were airtight. Wearing them all the time while traveling every day would be terrible for his feet.

"Frieren, we need to take a break!"

"Huh? Why?"

Frieren and Fern stopped in their tracks, puzzled.

"It's our shoes! We've been walking in them this whole time. Our feet will suffer if we keep them cooped up!"

Dugu Qing used his brain to speak up for his feet, his tone righteous and stern.

"Is that so?"

Frieren looked thoughtful. She was a graceful young beauty, after all! Of course she wanted to stay healthy and clean wherever she went.

"Then let's take a break! We shouldn't travel so far every day from now on."

Frieren had taken on plenty of useless, unpaid jobs along the way. As Fern saw it, they might as well have spent that time resting!

"All right! But if we stop now, it'll look less like an adventure and more like we're camping!"

Even as an elf, Frieren took things as they came.

Dugu Qing approached life seriously, treated himself with meticulous care, and had a clear, calm and graceful state of mind.

It was something Frieren had never experienced before...

The three opened their suitcases and took out a tent.

As she extended the poles, Frieren faced the setting sun and felt good.

Though they were out in the wilderness, miles from the nearest village or inn, she actually felt as though she had found a home.

It was rather like finding home wherever her heart was at peace.

Fern gathered leaves and branches and piled them together.

Dugu Qing lit the fire, placed a small pot of water in the water, and threw in tomatoes, wild vegetables, mushrooms, wild scallions... which he had picked up by the roadside.

Then Dugu Qing took out chilies, cumin, spices, salt and soy sauce he had bought in the city, added pork belly, chicken and beef, and casually made a pot of hotpot.

The meal came to an end.

Dugu Qing regained his vigor. He sat cross-legged on a rock, closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to create a spell to keep his feet clean.

"Dugu Qing, there are so many dragonflies here!"

Fern held a dragonfly between her cupped hands, then gently opened them and held it out in front of Dugu Qing.

A faint, soft scent of a young girl drifted on the breeze, brushing against his face and refreshing his senses.

Dugu Qing happened to be out of ideas, so he slowly stood up.

"Then let's play a game! I'll catch dragonflies, and you stop me."

Playing games when he lacked inspiration was a good habit Dugu Qing had developed in his previous life.

With no computers around, Dugu Qing could only catch dragonflies.

"Us? Together!"

Fern's eyes instantly brightened, shining like stars, lovely and captivating.

"Do you think it's childish?"

"No, no, I'd be honored!"

Fern took a step back, her eyes curving as a smile spread across her face. Her movements were especially gentle.

"Then I'm coming!"

A gentle breeze drifted through the forest, and the setting sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows.

Dugu Qing fixed his eyes on the nearest dragonfly, stepped forward, spread his arms and reached out to catch it.

Fern blocked his path to the dragonfly.

The dragonfly spread its transparent wings and flew leisurely toward the clear sky in the distance.

Disappointed, Dugu Qing turned and ran after another dragonfly.

Sensing a human presence, the dragonfly fled in a panic.

Dugu Qing followed close behind, entering the forest.

"Roar!"

Deep in the forest, the towering figure of a great gray wolf rose from a tranquil lake. It was as tall as an ancient tree, its entire body covered in hard gray rock.

It looked at Dugu Qing and Fern, its eyes filled with killing intent.

Dugu Qing stopped abruptly, his gaze sharpening as he summoned the Battle Sword from Frieren's suitcase.

An imposing, ancient-looking Battle Sword, its blade bearing a slight crack, appeared out of thin air and fell into his hand.

Dugu Qing flicked his wrist, and a fierce flash of sword light suddenly sliced through the air.

A cold light flashed past, and the monster's enormous head rolled off with the strike, sending up countless splashes.

"Amazing! Dugu Qing, I didn't expect your swordsmanship to be so good too!"

Watching Dugu Qing's back, Fern finally relaxed.

The mood lightened, and Dugu Qing and Fern returned to camp.

The three rested for the night.

The next day, they continued on their way, practicing magic and enjoying the scenery as they traveled. Before long, they arrived at a village.

The demon Qual, whom Frieren and Himmel had fought, was sealed here.

Qual, nicknamed the "Sage of Corruption," had created a killing spell that could pierce equipment. He was known as one of the foremost mages in the Demon King's Army and was immensely powerful.

Although Qual's nickname included the word "sage," often leading people to think he was one of the Seven Sages of Destruction,

he was not one of them. He merely had "sage" in his name...

The village chief led Frieren, Dugu Qing and Fern to a hill.

Qual's body stood on the grass, hard as bluestone.

Frieren looked at the monster who had once been so imposing and arrogant, now nothing more than a piece of bluestone, and could not help marveling inwardly at the power of time.

After eighty years of being sealed away,

surely the mana in Qual's body had been depleted to a rather dismal degree!

Even if Qual used all his strength to break the seal, he would not be able to regain his former power right away.

What was more, thanks to the efforts of countless humans, Qual's killing spell had been deciphered and was no longer a threat.

"Let's rest and come back tomorrow to defeat the great demon!"

The three returned to the village and rested there for the night.

The next day, the three went to Qual fully armed and undid his seal.

Qual had only just awakened. Feeling his stiff body and depleted mana, he was in a gloomy mood.

"It's been a long time, Frieren. How many years was I sealed away?"

Frieren told Qual.

Angered by the many years he had spent sealed away, Qual launched a mana attack.

Fern stood in front of Frieren and cast a defensive spell that consumed a great deal of mana.

Frieren and Dugu Qing exchanged a glance, then flew into the sky together and fired Mana Bullets.

Two enormous shock waves pierced Qual's body.

Bringing Qual to his end.

"He died just like that!"

The powerful great demon recorded in history books, who could rival the Seven Sages of Destruction, had simply vanished like smoke and clouds, turning to nothing before her eyes.

Fern seemed to have come to a realization.

The upper limit of her fear of monsters, demons, the Demon King, the Seven Sages of Destruction and unknown experts had permanently fallen by a great deal.

Perhaps she would never again look panicked when facing demons!

"What was that? The Demon King's experts are so weak. Looks like demons aren't much after all!"

Qual's combat ability had affected the image of the entire demon race in Dugu Qing's mind.

At that moment, Dugu Qing felt better than ever.

Demons? The Demon King? The terrifying image of them in his mind gradually faded.

"Dugu Qing, he was sealed for eighty years, and the mana in his body was depleted. That's why he was so easy to beat."

"I see! I understand."